Fox News projects Trump to win key state of North Carolina

Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump will win North Carolina.

Trump will be awarded the battleground state's 16 electoral votes, which are key in the path to the presidency.

The former president won North Carolina in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

North Carolina faced potential challenges to early voting after Hurricane Helene made a deadly sweep across the southeast, having the most severe impact on western red counties that historically vote Republican.

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Despite the storm, there were successful efforts to ensure voting access for those in the impacted western counties across the state.

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The North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution that reformed the state's early voting process in 13 counties, including changing or adding voting sites and maintaining their availability, extending the hours and adding or reducing when any site is open within the early voting period, according to the election board.

North Carolina saw record turnout on the first day of early voting in the state, Oct. 17, when 353,000 registered voters cast their ballots.

North Carolina is one of several swing states key to winning the White House. The others are Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.